Ever since Peter Capaldi announced that he was stepping down from BBC sci-fi series Doctor Who, speculation has been rife as to who could replace him at the Tardis controls.

Tilda Swinton, David Harewood, Kris Marshall and Richard Ayoade have all been rumoured for the coveted role, with many fans excited to imagine their favourite stars as the titular Time Lord.

However, perhaps none of these potential Doctors is as excited about the idea as Sherlock star Sacha Dhawan, who was suggested by fans as a potential successor to Capaldi shortly after the Scottish actor revealed his departure from the series. After speaking to him on the topic, it’s clear Dhawan is keen – very keen.

“Oh my God, I’d absolutely love to,” Dhawan told RadioTimes.com when asked if he was interested in the part. “I SO would love to.

“I’ve worked with [frequent Doctor Who writer Mark Gatiss] quite a lot, and I think I’d bring something really exciting to it. It’d be incredibly nerve-wracking to do to be honest. It’s quite a lot of pressure.

“When the list came out, I was so honoured really that I was even considered,” he went on. “And that alone was kind of good enough. But who wouldn’t want to do it? It’s Doctor Who.”

Of course, eagle-eyed Who fans will know that Dhawan has a bit of history with the series, having appeared in Mark Gatiss’ biopic An Adventure in Space and Time back in 2013, playing original Doctor Who director Waris Hussein (pictured above, alongside Jessica Raine as Verity Lambert).

And apparently during that period Dhawan actually ran into Capaldi before he was announced as the Twelfth Doctor, giving him a certain insight into the secrecy of recasting the character.

“Actually, when we were filming an Adventure in Space and Time we were on set, and Peter Capaldi came on, and he was making some notes and stuff,” the Stockport-born actor recalled.

“And I was like ‘Oh, he’s the guy from…what’s he doing on set?’

“And Mark [Gatiss] said ‘Oh no, he’s a huge Doctor Who fan, he just kind of wanted to come and have a look.’ I didn’t know then, but he obviously ended up being the next Doctor Who!”

Dhawan, who has just been revealed to be playing a major character in Marvel/Netflix superhero series Iron Fist, also waded into the debate about whether the next Doctor should be played by an actor of ethnic origin or by a woman, after the first thirteen incarnations have all appeared as white men.

Figures ranging from former companion Billie Piper, series writer Mark Gatiss and actor David Harewood have suggested it’s time for such a change, and Dhawan agrees that it’s about time the Doctor caught up with the modern world.

“I think generally with Doctor Who, whether it’s of race or of gender, I think it’s time that we celebrate that it should maybe be something different,” he told us.

“I don’t know what the answer is – I guess it’s the right person for the job. But I think it’s time to flip the character on its head slightly – and I feel that’ll very much happen this year, whether or not it’ll be someone of race or gender.

He concluded: “I personally think maybe it should be a female now. I’m keen to see what the Beeb do.”

Sounds like he’s not too keen on his own chances, then – but if the BBC do come calling, at least they’ll know they have a very willing contender.

 

Imagine seven Doctors all in the same room, tucking into a hearty breakfast. Got it pictured in your head? Right, now imagine there are some extra seats at the table for more guests…

It’s a Doctor Who fan’s dream come true, right? And guess what? It could be YOU sitting there.

As part of Red Nose Day’s ‘Best Auction Ever’, seven Time Lords – past and present – are gathering in one place for the best meal of the day and there are four empty spots up for grabs.

The Doctors are: Peter Capaldi, Matt Smith, David Tennant, Paul McGann, Sylvester McCoy, Peter Davison and Colin Baker.

And that extra place at the table is available to all Doctor Who fans, whatever their budget. This is how it’s going to work…

There are four spaces up for grabs – two of them will go to the highest bidders with the online auction opening at 6:30pm on Friday 17th March.

But for those without a big bank balance, two of the spots will go to raffle ticket winners. To enter the raffle costs just £5 so if you’ve been counting the pennies recently, simply purchase a ticket for your chance to win the ultimate Doctor Who fan experience.

And for those less fussed by the prospect of a morning talking about space and time, there are plenty more items and experiences to bid for in the auction with all proceeds going to Comic Relief.

Red Dwarf obsessives can pitch for a 85cm 3D-printed replica of Star Bug, while Teletubbies fans can get there hands on a piece of Teletubby toast from the very first series.

Viewers of The Crown might want to bid for an afternoon tea with her Majesty herself, Claire Foy, and Vanessa Kirby – who plays Princess Margaret – and anyone fancying a trip abroad might be interested in a flight to LA and the chance to go and watch James Corden’s Late Late Show.

Miranda Hart fans can go galloping with the TV star, while Gareth Malone is offering a singing lesson and Mary Berry will cook a cake – all for the highest bidders.

And in a real coup, the Red Nose Day organisers have THE jumper from The Killing – Detective Sarah Lund’s iconic knitwear in series one – donated by Sofie Grabol herself to raise money for charity.

To visit Red Nose Day’s Best Auction Ever visit here – and see a rundown of all the prizes up for grabs.

It’s been a while, but Doctor Who is resurrecting the three-parter for Peter Capaldi’s final series aboard the TARDIS.

New monsters The Monks were previously confirmed to be appearing in several episodes across series 10 – now Gallifreyan Newsroom can confirm that a trio of adventures (episodes 6-8) in the new series are linked.

Toby Whithouse, who’s written the concluding chapter, revealed: “Mine is the third part of a three-parter – Steven [Moffat]’s done the first one, Peter Harness did the second and I’ve done the third.

“It’s set modern-day… and I think anything more than that and Steven will come round and kick me in the shin!”

The Doctor, Nardole (Matt Lucas) and new companion Bill will all face the Monks – with Whithouse telling us that actress Pearl Mackie is not just “terrific” but also “very different to previous companions”.

“She has very good comic timing,” he said. “And there’s a lovely chemistry between her and Peter.”

The Monks are – it appears – a new threat in a series that features more than a few old threats returning to menace the Doctor.

The Daleks, the Ice Warriors, Missy (Michelle Gomez), and the Cybermen – the original 1960s vintage – will all be back… but will it be one of them that sets off the Doctor’s latest regeneration?

Doctor Who returns to BBC One on Saturday, April 15.

This series will be the last for Twelfth Doctor actor Peter Capaldi; he is joined by Matt Lucas, as Nardole, and Pearl Mackie as new companion Bill. We do know, however, what the Series 10 Episode 1 is called..

“The Pilot”

AND we have some interesting images from the first full episode to feature the Time Lord with his new companion — check them out below.

Alongside its television broadcast, The Pilot will also be seen in cinemas around the world – more details to come.

Doctor Who Series 10, The Pilot airs April 15, 2017.

Doctor Who fans aren’t the only ones talking about the new series trailer: The Master herself has a few thoughts about the upcoming season.

Accompanied by a disembodied Cyberman head, Missy sits down for a viewing of the 60-second clip, released by the BBC on Monday.

“There’s that new girl,” she says with a wee eye roll at Bill Potts, the Doctor’s latest companion.

The trailer’s theme—”a time for heroes”—hints at an exciting 12 episodes of derring-do and bravery. But what about the Doctor’s foes?

“Oh, a time for heroes… And villains … maybe?” Missy teases.

First portrayed by Roger Delgado in 1971’s “Terror of the Autons,” the Master, driven insane at a young age, is hell bent on controlling the universe and making the Doctor suffer.

Just like Doctor Who‘s titular character, the Master has been played by multiple actors over nearly five decades. Peter Pratt took over the role after Delgado’s death and was succeeded by Geoffrey Beevers and Anthony Ainley.

Gordon Tipple and Eric Roberts were cast in the Doctor Who TV movie as “the old Master” and “the Master,” respectively. Since the program’s reboot in 2005, the mischievous Time Lord has been personified by Derek Jacobi and John Simm.

A botched regeneration, however, leads to the introduction of Michelle Gomez as Missy, a mysterious “woman in the shop” who brings Clara and the Eleventh Doctor together. She is later unveiled as a new, female incarnation of the Master.

“I don’t really like heroes,” Gomez, decked out in Missy’s steampunk Mary Poppins costume says at the end of her trailer commentary. “I like to watch them crash and burn.”

Stream all of Doctor Who now for free with your Amazon Prime membership.

In the latest trailer for Doctor Who’s upcoming tenth series (which, to be honest, you’ve definitely seen by now), one of the most interesting moments is also one of the briefest.

In shots towards the end of the trailer, Matt Lucas’ part-time companion Nardole is tossed a sonic screwdriver of a familiar design – the version of the tool used by Tom Baker’s fourth Doctor – which he then goes on to use in various situations. Maybe the Doctor didn’t trust him with a newer model…

Anyway, exactly why Nardole is given the sonic (and by whom) remains a bit of a mystery, but its inclusion in the series is the latest in a line of weird retro inclusions that could have a deeper significance for the final episodes of Peter Capaldi’s Twelfth Doctor – or could just be a bit of horsing around by the production team.

The most notable example of these throwback classic Who elements comes in the form of the Mondasian Cybermen (see main image), aka the first ever version of the cyborg villains who appeared in original Doctor William Hartnell’s final serial The Tenth Planet. Over the years the costumes for the Cybermen advanced greatly, but Capaldi apparently retained a fondness for the original design, which goes some way to explaining their inclusion in series 10’s upcoming double-bill finale.

However, it is still odd for the series to include such a deliberately outdated design, with the Mondasian Cybermen costumes undergoing none of the revamping we’ve seen for the return of other classic monsters like the Ice Warriors, The Sontarans or even David Tennant favourite the Zygons. What makes them different?

This seems all the more confusing when you consider the possibility that another classic Who foe might be making return in their less-than-modern costuming – android Dalek enemies the Movellans, who eagle-eyed fans think they might have spotted in one of the trailers.

Here’s what they look like for reference…

…and here’s where people think they can see them in the trailer, facing off against their traditional tinpot foes. Spot the hair and the hand-gun?

Another slightly odd classic design potentially returning, there.
Of course, behind-the-scenes reasons for all these retro elements’ inclusion are pretty obvious. Showrunner Steven Moffat is leaving this year with star Peter Capaldi and, as both are notorious fans of classic Who, they may just be taking their chance to indulge in a bit of nerdy fun for their final episodes. If you were leaving Doctor Who, why wouldn’t you try and work in a few of your favourite monsters and gadgets in the time you had left?

And as we’ve noted elsewhere, a lot of the new monsters also seem to draw inspiration from recent years of Who, so overall we could see a lot of this as a farewell tour of Moffat and Capaldi’s old favourites.

However, this simple explanation doesn’t mean that there couldn’t also be a reason within the story for the inclusion of all these classic elements – and it might just relate to Peter Capaldi’s regeneration, which will come in this year’s Christmas special.

During the latest trailer, a slightly ominous line is uttered by the Doctor, which seems to echo some of the returning retro elements we’ve already discussed.

“This is the gateway to everything that ever was, or ever can be,” he tells Bill, edited in such a way to suggest he’s discussing the Tardis – but could he actually be talking about something else?

My colleague Paul Jones has previously written about how the return of the Mondasian Cybermen could be an ominous portent for Capaldi’s Doctor – they were indirectly responsible for the Time Lord’s first ever regeneration, after all – and it’s possible that these other recurring classic Who features (along with others we haven’t seen yet) represent the Doctor’s past coming back to haunt him.

If true, this storyline could just be a vague sort of theme (basically the Doctor revisiting his past before stepping into his future), or something more sinister entirely, a plot against Capaldi’s Twelfth incarnation that involves bringing back some of his oldest and deadliest foes in a fitting farewell to the character.

After all, such an alliance has happened before – in Steven Moffat’s first ever series finale, The Pandorica Opens/ The Big Bang – and with the return of famed Cyberman-wrangler and time traveller Missy (Michelle Gomez) to the series, we could even have a plausible mastermind for the whole shebang.

And of course, when faced with older foes, what better tool to have to hand than an older model of sonic screwdriver? Even if you do just lend it to a guy in a weird little waistcoat…

Now, of course this is also extremely speculative, and it could be that the trend we think we’ve spotted is no more than a coincidental return for some classic Who creations. And frankly, even if it is intentional it seems more than likely that there’s no grand scheme within the story itself to explain why it’s happening – it’s probably just a bit of self-indulgent fun for a pair of old-school Whovians.

Still, we can’t help but wonder if there’s a larger game at hand here, a way to send Peter Capaldi off with a unification of new and old Who that pays tribute to both his time in the series and his time as a young fan back when the series was still new.

And if that IS the case, we can’t wait to see what other retro surprises series 10 still has in store. It’ll be totally classic.

Doctor Who returns to BBC1 on Saturday 15th April